Risk Matrix – Field & Context Management Guidelines

Overview

The Risk Matrix application depends on a set of global Jira custom fields to store Probability and Severity option values. These fields are created once at the global Jira level. For each project that uses the Risk Matrix, the application automatically generates a project-specific field context.

While users can modify option names and values as needed, certain restrictions are in place to ensure the application continues to function correctly.

This page explains:

  • What must not be changed

  • What can be changed safely

  • Best practices for consistency

Global Fields Used by the Application

The Risk Matrix uses the following global fields:

Global Field Name

Purpose

Pre-Mitigation Probability

Probability options for pre-assessment

Pre-Mitigation Severity

Severity options for pre-assessment

Post-Mitigation Probability

Probability options for post-assessment

Post-Mitigation Severity

Severity options for post-assessment

Note: These fields created only once at the global level. The application creates contexts per project, not separate fields for each project.

Critical Restrictions – Do NOT perform these actions!

  • Do NOT delete these global fields.
    Deleting them will disrupt probability/severity mapping, risk calculations, and project initialization.

  • Do NOT delete or manually modify field contexts created by the application.
    Removing these contexts will prevent the Risk Matrix from working within affected projects.

  • Do NOT delete options from these fields directly in Jira.
    Removing options can result in missing values or inconsistent matrix behavior across projects.

Allowed (Safe) Changes

You can safely perform the following actions without impacting the application:

  • ✔ Rename options

  • ✔ Add new options

  • ✔ Reorder existing options

  • ✔ Edit option descriptions or display values

The Risk Matrix dynamically reads option sets and will continue to function as expected.

Best Practice

Although it is technically safe to perform CRUD operations on options, we strongly recommend managing these options within the Risk Matrix application UI.

Benefits of using the app UI:

  • Ensures consistency across all projects

  • Prevents accidental deletion of critical options

  • Validates field values before saving

  • Keeps project-level contexts properly aligned

  • Reduces the risk of unsupported configurations

External changes via Jira Admin will not break functionality, but are not recommended.

Summary

❌ Actions that WILL break the app

  • Deleting global fields

  • Deleting field contexts created by the app

  • Deleting options directly in Jira

✔ Actions that are allowed (safe)

  • Renaming options

  • Adding new options

  • Reordering options

  • Editing option values

Whenever possible, perform all CRUD operations on Probability and Severity options within the Risk Matrix app UI.

Support

If you suspect a field or context has been removed or misconfigured, or if you need assistance:

We can help restore or realign field configurations as needed.